photo cred. Clay Larsen
Gleb Kanasevich is a clarinetist, composer, and noise/drone musician. He currently works primarily with feedback and modified instruments, while exploring expressive possibilities in very simple electronic processing. As of July, 2022, he is a permanent member of Hub New Music. He also works often as a soloist and collaborates with composers, other chamber music groups, improvisers, noise musicians, death metal bands, and many more types of artists. In 2020, he founded a small independent label Unknown Tapes, dedicated to showcasing work by artists whose work deals with spontaneous music making regardless of genre. His blackened noise album Asleep (Unknown Tapes) and the immersive 45-minute Subtraction (Flag Day Recordings) came out to critical acclaim in 2019.
Most recently, he was commissioned by Ensemble Intercontemporain, Callithumpian Consort, Ah Young Hong, and No Exit New Music Ensemble. In 2020, he released a new improvisation project for modified recorder and guitar amplifiers Capacity. It came out as a very limited edition of 20 lathe cut vinyl records with unique hand-drawn sleeves in July, 2020. Capacity has been survived by fully composed follow-up works for cello (written for Peter Kibbe, commissioned by NakedEye Ensemble) and bass clarinet (scheduled for a 2021 premiere by Ashley Smith, commissioned through Cultural Council of Australia).
Since 2013, he has been a core member of Ensemble Cantata Profana – a group based in New York City. After four years of co-directing Cantata Profana with Jacob Ashworth, he was named the ensemble's Acting Artistic Director in July, 2022. From 2016 until Spring, 2019, Kanasevich also worked as a curator/video maker for the online new music database and audio/video/score resource ScoreFollower/Incipitsify.
Unknown Tapes: https://unknwn3.bandcamp.com/
email: gleb.kanasevich@yahoo.com
Selected repertoire
This is a list of works I have performed numerous times throughout the past decade, and it includes my current touring repertoire as well as some works that have been recorded but not yet performed live.
*click on the underlined titles to hear/watch my performance of the piece*
SOLO WITH ELECTRONICS
Boneh, Oren — Fighting
Boulez, Pierre – Dialogue de l’ombre double
Camci, Alican – Eklenip eklemlenmeyen zaman
Cheah, Victoria – to be kind
Cuong, Viet – Naica (bass clarinet)
Davis, Nathan – Dowser (bass clarinet)
figgis-vizueta, inti — no words
Kanasevich, Gleb – Subtraction
Lou, Michelle – Telegrams
Max Murray – Ad Marginem des Versuchs
Poliks, Marek – lamina hollow volume
Radulescu, Horatiu – inner time II (performed with six speakers)
Randall-Meyers, Brendon – Nausea
Reich, Steve – New York Counterpoint
Steiger, Rand – Cyclone
Tipp, Devon – Augury III
Ueno, Ken – I screamed at the sea until the nodes swelled…
Wang, Fay – Inside Insides (e-flat, b-flat, and bass)
SOLO WITHOUT ELECTRONICS
Bach, Johann Sebastian – Flute Partita in a minor
Barrett, Richard – CHARON (bass clarinet)
Knospend-Gespaltener (c clarinet)
Berio, Luciano – Sequenza IXa
Gesti (soprano recorder)
Boulez, Pierre – Domaines
Bussad, Rodrigo – Ignis Fatuus
Carrizo, Andres — Voces
Camci, Alican – Bosluk ve telafi
Chinilina, Inga – Sky Every Day
Cuong, Viet – Zanelle
Dang, Khoi – Sky Nocturne
Denisov, Edison – Sonata
Donatoni, Franco – Clair
Erber, James – Strange Moments of Intimacy (c clarinet)
Ferneyhough, Brian – Time and Motion Study I
Finnissy, Michael – Marrngu (e-flat clarinet)
Uzundara
Harrison, Bryn – Open 2
Hasanova, Rahilia – Agog
Penetrations (bass clarinet)
Hernandez, Carlos – Linea (bass clarinet)
Kanasevich, Gleb – [BROWN]d (soprano recorder)
Koskelin, Olli – Exalte
Animal II
Lachenmann, Helmut – Dal niente
Lim, Liza – Sonorous Body
McBride, Nigel – Douzieme Journee (bass clarinet)
Power, Ian – swathe
Radulescu, Horatiu – inner time
Rapaport-Stein, Jeremy – A Ramblin’ Fool
Saunders, Rebecca – Caerulean (bass clarinet)
Silvestrov, Valentin – Misterioso (clarinet and piano, single player)
Telemann, Georg Philipp – XII Fantasies
Tiết, Tôn-Thất – Bao La
CLARINET AND PIANO
Bach, Johann Sebastian – Sonata for Flute and Keyboard No.5 (e-flat clarinet)
Barrett, Richard – Flechtwerk
Beethoven, Ludwig van – Sonata Op.17 (on bass clarinet or basset horn)
Berg, Alban – Vier Stucke
Birtwistle, Harrison – Verses
Brahms, Johannes – Sonatas No.1 and No.2
Eckardt, Jason – Rendition (bass clarinet)
Finnissy, Michael - Sonata
Harvey, Jonathan – Transformations of “Love Bade Me Welcome”
Klatzow, Peter – Sonata
Maxwell-Davies, Peter – Hymnos
Muczynski, Robert – Time Pieces
Poulenc, Francis – Sonata
Prokofiev, Sergei – Flute Sonata Op.94
Saint-Saens, Camille – Sonata
Schumann, Robert – Drei Romanzen
Fantasiestucke
Yun, Isang – Riul
WITH STRING QUARTET
Allas, Daniel – 3562768%ERROR
Brahms, Johannes – Quintet
Denisov, Edison – Clarinet Quintet
Feldman, Morton – "Clarinet and String Quartet"
Kim, Matthew NamHoon – Wasserfarbe
Koskelin, Olli – *new work title TBD*
Lindberg, Magnus – Clarinet Quintet
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus – Quintet
Weber, Carl Maria von – Quintet
CONCERTANTE
Adams, John – Gnarly Buttons (for clarinet and large ensemble)
Berio, Luciano – Concertino
Copland, Aaron – Concerto
Corigliano, John – Concerto
Crussell, Bernard Henrik – Concerto No.3 for clarinet and orchestra
Ferneyhough, Brian – La Chute D’Icare (for clarinet and ensemble)
Globokar, Vinko – Ausstrahlugen (concerto for an indeterminate soprano woodwind instrument and 22 players)
Hoffmeister, Franz Anton – Concerto for clarinet and orchestra in E-flat Major
Kanasevich, Gleb – Cycle (for clarinet, ensemble, and tape)
Kim, Solbong – Concerto for clarinet and orchestra
Molter, Johann Melchior – Concerto No. 1 in A major for D clarinet and orchestra
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus – Concerto in A Major, K.622
Nielsen, Karl – Concerto for clarinet and orchestra
Scelsi, Giacinto – Kya (for clarinet and ensemble)
Stamitz, Johann – Concerto No.4 for clarinet, violin, and orchestra
Spohr, Louis – Concerto No.1
Concerto No.4 for A clarinet and orchestra
Telemann, Georg Philipp – Concerto for two chalumeaux and strings
Toyotomi, Devon – Krev/Sanglots (concerto for bass clarinet and chamber ensemble)
Weber, Carl Maria von – Concertino
Concerto No.1
Concerto No.2
Yeats, Marc – Shapeshifter (concerto for E-flat clarinet and chamber ensemble)
Liquid Music (for clarinet and large ensemble)
Xenakis, Iannis – Echange (concerto for bass clarinet and large ensemble)
DUETS
Billone, Pierluigi – 1+1=1 (two bass clarinets)
Carter, Eliot – Espirit Rude/Espirit Doux (with flute)
Cheah, Victoria – Telephone: Careless Whisper (with marimba)
Lim, Liza – Inguz (with cello)
Furrer, Beat – Apoklisis (two bass clarinets)
Haas, Georg Friedrich – Phantasien (with viola)
Jolivet, Andre – Sonatine (with flute)
Kanasevich, Gleb – time enough at last (with cello)
Muczynski, Robert – Duos (with flute)
Pavia, Marcela – Amancay (with guitar)
Poulenc, Francis – Sonata for two clarinets
Scelsi, Giacinto – Ko-Lho (with flute)
Stockhausen, Karlheinz – Ave (with alto flute)
Tiensuu, Jukka – Plus II (with cello)
Villa-Lobos, Heitor – Choros No.2 (with flute)
Wanamaker, Gregory – Duo Sonata (with alto saxophone)
Xenakis, Iannis – Charisma (with cello)
TRIOS
Aperghis, Georges – Seven Sins of Love
Bach, Johann Sebastian – Trio Sonata from “The Musical Offering”
Bartok, Bela – Contrasts
Beethoven, Ludwig van – Trio Op.11
Brahms, Johannes – Trio Op.114
Bussad, Rodrigo – Early Yang (with cello and piano)
Denisov, Edison – Ode (with percussion and piano)
Furrer, Beat – Aer (with cello and piano)
Gardiner, William – Hebbian Theory (with violin and piano)
Gorecki, Henryk Mikolaj – Lerchenmusik (with cello and piano)
Hasanova, Rahilia – Pulse
Zarra
Khachaturian, Aram – Trio (with violin and piano)
Kurtag, Gyorgi – Hommage a R. Schumann (with viola and piano)
Lachenmann, Helmut – Trio Fluido (with viola and marimba)
Allegro Sostenuto (with cello and piano)
Milhaud, Darius – Suite for violin, clarinet, and piano
Muczynski, Robert – Fantasy Trio (with cello and piano)
Puts, Kevin - …And Legions Will Rise (with violin and marimba)
Schumann, Robert – Fairy Tales (with viola and piano)
Tajcevic, Marko – Seven Balkan Dances (with cello and piano)
Ustvolskaya, Galina – Trio (with violin and piano)
List of works
*click on the underlined titles to hear/watch a representative recording of a piece*
2020
Capacity II – a set for cello and guitar pedals. 23'
7/24/2020 - commissioned by NakedEye Ensemble and premiered virtually by Peter Kibbe.
Song 27 – for voice, double bass, and live electronics. 8'
2/19/2020 - premiered by Departure Duo at Brandeis University.
2019
Found Objects – for five percussionists playing tabletop acoustic and electric guitars, hammered dulcimer (or a rapidly strummed instrument like balalaika or banjo), and live electronics. 30'
Don’t wake them up – for flauto d’amore and live electronics. 12'
5/26/2019 - commissioned by Ginevra Petrucci and premiered at Greenwich Space, NYC.
An ocean – for shakuhachi and fixed media. 10'
2/3/2019 - commissioned by Devon Osamu Tipp and premiered at Oh My Ears 2019, Phoenix, AZ.
2018
POWERSLIDE – for a solo performer, video, and live electronics. 7'
Impedance – for 11 saxophones. 11'
3/3/2018 - commissioned and premiered by the Megalopolis Saxophone Orchestra, First Church in Boston, Boston, MA.
Climacteric Torpidity – for bass clarinet, marimba, and fixed media. 13'
3/15/2018 - premiered by Transient Canvas at BEAMSfest, Brandeis University.
2017
your fortress – for string quartet and live electronics. 16'
Subtraction – (ongoing project with frequent revisions, additions, and edits) a new performance practice for clarinet and electronics. 45' or 36'
4/26/2017 - premiered by Gleb Kanasevich, Boston Sculptors Gallery.
Gnaw – for a sustaining instrument, two electric guitars, and live electronics. 17'
1/27/2017 - premiered by International Contemporary Ensemble, Brandeis University.
2016
Song – for amplified prepared piano. 32'
4/26/2017 - premiered by Jared Redmond, Brandeis University.
Soil – for computer-generated feedback, live processing, and 8 speakers. 27'
11/4/2016 - premiered at Brandeis University.
Solo – for bass clarinet, trombone, viola, cello, and prepared piano with optional fixed media. 7'
7/1/2016 - premiered by Ensemble Intercontemporain at ManiFeste 2016, Le Centquatre, Paris.
Frail – for flute/piccolo, electric violin, and percussion with optional electronics. 18'
Commissioned and premiered by Raoul Cho (flute), with support from the Royal School of Music, Toronto, Canada. 5/6/2016 – premiere by Raoul Cho, Andrea Tyniec, and Dave Burns at the Royal School of Music, Toronto, Canada.
2015
time enough at last - for clarinet and cello with optional amplification. 45'
Commissioned by Audeamus International Music Festival. 11/25/2015 – premiered by Gleb Kanasevich and Dorotea Racz at the opening concert of the inaugural Audeamus International Music Festival, Zagreb, Croatia.
[BROWN] - for solo soprano recorder. 14'
5/4/2015 – premiered by Gleb Kanasevich, Brandeis University.
verpflichtet II - for 14 players. 16'
6/3/2016 – premiered by Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston, SC.
Suono infinito - for cello and prepared piano doubling melodica. 24'
3/8/2015 – premiered by David Russell and Geoffrey Burleson, Brandeis University.
...she was but an apparition... - for string quartet. 20'
7/29/2015 – premiered by Miranda Cuckson, Yuri Namkung, Lois Martin and Joshua Gordon at Wellesley Composers Conference, Wellesley College, MA.
2013
installazioni/moduli/versi - for cello and piano. 14'
12/27/2013 – premiered by Racz/Samogray Duo at Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia on December 27, 2013.
[PINK] - for amplified clarinet, viola, percussion and synthesized sound. 20'
Commissioned and recorded by Lunar Ensemble in October, 2013. Public live performances of this work are allowed only in extremely large and reverberant spaces (at least 8-second decay). The original CD recording is the only other permissible means of presentation.
Moment d'extase/concatènation – for oversized symphony orchestra. 6'
11/17/2013 - premiered by Zephyrus Orchestra Project, Yale University.
Fields - for solo piano (2010, recomposed in 2013). 23'
3/29/2015 – premiered by Illya Filshtinskiy, Spectrum, NYC.
Plastiques - for cello and double bass. 13'
Commissioned by Fundacion Musica AntiquaNova, Argentina. 7/12/2015 - premiered by Felix Fan, cello and Matt Kline, double bass at soundSCAPE Festival, Maccagno, Italy.
Romanze per me - for solo classical or electric guitar. 12'
4/17/2013 - premiered by Alexander Milovanov, Yale School of Music.
2012
DUDK*=*FLOT - for solo flute. 14'
9/26/2013 – premiered by Lisa Cella, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
skrip/\viol - for solo violin. 40'
naturel/primitif - for basset horn in F and guitar. 11'
5/2/2012 - premiered by Gleb Kanasevich on basset horn and Alexander Milovanov on guitar, Yale School of Music.
2011
Cycle – for clarinet, guitar, percussion, and tape. 24'
10/27/2011 – second half premiered by Gleb Kanasevich on clarinet, Alexander Milovanov on guitar and Victor Caccese on percussion, Yale School of Music. 5/4/2011 – first half premiered by Gleb Kanasevich and performance fellows at Peabody Conservatory.